AstraZeneca shows cardiovascular safety for roxadustat

AstraZeneca has announced that pooled analyses of the phase III trials for its kidney disease drug roxadustat confirm the drug’s cardiovascular safety – a good sign for the potential blockbuster that hopes to compete with well-established treatments. Roxadustat, co-developed with FibroGen and Astellas, is a first-in-class HIF-PHI inhibitor for the treatment of anaemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD), which affects more than 200 million people worldwide. It is looking to take on a market well-served for decades by erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs). These drugs suffer from safety concerns, including greater risks of cardiovascular events and tumours, giving AstraZeneca a good reason to be shouting about the positive safety analysis for roxadustat.